The new outdoor courtyard near the swimming pool complex was dedicated on Wednesday, September 14, 2016  to the late Marie-Louise Jackson, a benefactor to many who was described by friends and family alike as a kind, caring and considerate woman.

“She was a teacher,” said her daughter, Susan Tressider. “She loved gardens. She loved her grandchildren very, very much. I think this is a very appropriate, beautiful spot to dedicate to her.”

Ever since its construction last spring, and especially during camp this summer, the courtyard has been filled with the lively voices of teenagers hanging out or eating lunch at the five wooden picnic tables.

For one of them, Cara Tressider ’18, who is Susan’s daughter, the courtyard and a rock inscribed with Marie-Louise’s name, holds special significance.

“I like seeing my grandmom’s name on the rock every time I sit out here, which is really nice,” she said during the simple yet poignant ceremony.

Head of School Rich Nourie noted that Marie-Louise, through the Tressider family, had been a big supporter of several AFS projects as well as a champion of travel-abroad programs for college students.

The Tressider family was joined at the ceremony by a handful of Marie-Louise’s close friends, including Carol Kodsi, her next-door neighbor.

“There some people who come into your life and you’re never the same. She was one of those people,” Carol said.

Later, she added that Marie-Louise had “left a legacy for people who will never ever know what she did for them, how she helped them. Her daughter, Susan, is now doing her mother’s work.”